Matchmaker
by Ghostpirates
Summary: Fire's had a weird power since birth. She can sense the auras of people, which helps her match them without fail. Throw in some characters from KH and FF7 and you've got yourself a lot of pairings. Warning: Yaoi, Shonen-Ai, and a hint of het.
1. Prologue: Heroine

_Author's Comments:_

_Well, here's the prologue rewritten. Not much to say, just that I hope it's better than the other one. Hope the rest of the chapters will improve,too. And I hope you enjoy them. :3 Tell me what ya think?  
_

--

The bus pulled up to the front of the school, stopping abruptly and jarring a few sleeping teens. There were a few groans and some kids stretched as everyone filed off the bus. A girl about five feet in height with bright red hair down to her waist was the last to get off. She was practically sleeping on her feet. Her eyes were barely open, and she walked unsteadily. She shook herself to help wake up.

Walking up the few steps to the school doors, she opened them languidly, yawning. Stepping in, she came to a complete stop. Her eyes were wide now and she'd obviously woken up. Something was terribly wrong in her mind.

But before we go further, we should have introductions, a look into her thoughts. The thoughts of our heroin:

_My name is Fire. I go to Masutu High School. I'm average in height and weight and my hair is a bright red, but I guess you can already see that. I wouldn't say I'm in the 'popular' group at school, but I'm well-known._

_Everyone knows me as the school matchmaker. I've had a sense since birth that helps me pick who should be with who. I'm never wrong. When I was old enough to understand my gift, I noticed my parents were a total mismatch. And yet, they are still together to this day._

_That was the only time I was wrong._

And so, back to school.

--

_How was it?_

_MusicofFire  
_


	2. Match 1: Colors

_Author's Comments:_

_Redone. Hope it's better now. Other two chapters I've redone will be posted shortly._

--

Fire walked toward her locker, hands clutching the book in her hands in worry. There was a feeling of dread flowing through her. She'd felt this feeling before, at her home; she had learned to ignore it there. This was several times what she felt at home. And she knew what was wrong.

A LOT of people were mismatched.

Fire swapped the book in her hand for another and a few folders in her locker, then slammed the door shut. She stood up, red hair fluttering wildly, and walked to her first period.

A few people greeted her, but she just nodded an acknowledgment of their presence.

Arriving at her first period, Fire slipped into her seat at the back right corner. Her three best friends soon appeared.

"What's up?" asked a brunette. Her name was Sam.

"Mismatchers," Fire answered, rubbing her temples.

Mismatchers was the nickname given to those who were not meant to be, but had gotten together anyway. It happened a lot, and the only one who could feel it was Fire. Of course, her friends knew of her powers and they thought it was cool to be friends with her. They were the best friends she'd ever had, too, and she wouldn't have it any other way.

Everyone else thought that her matching abilities were just extremely lucky guesses. But they weren't. She could see the aura of people, and everyone had a different one (well, except the ones who were destined for each other). All she had to do was find the match and they'd be together forever. It was rather like that red string of fate thing she'd heard about and a lot of people believed. That was stupid, though. If she could see that, there would be a lot of wire everywhere and it would be almost impossible to match anybody like that. What stupid ideas some people came up with.

Back to the present, though. As I said, everyone has an aura. Fire's friends had strange auras. They were completely white. Since everyone else had an actual color, she just figured they weren't meant for anyone or something.

As for her, she'd only seen hers once. It was when she was five and had been standing in front of her mother's full-length mirror. It had flashed white and then there was nothing. Since then, Fire had never been able to see her own aura. She just put it aside in her mind, though. It wasn't anything to get upset over.

Cat, her blonde friend, snapped her fingers and brought Fire out of her thoughts. "Quite a few people got together over the weekend because of Seph's big party! That's probably where all the mismas came from."

Fire sighed. More work for her. Wonderful. "I wish you wouldn't call them that. It sounds stupid."

"I like it," Cat said, sniffling.

Jenny cut in before any shouting started. "Who got together, then?"

Fire shut her mouth, turning to Jenny and then to Sam as she started talking.

"Let's see. From what I saw this morning since I got here early, Reno hooked up with Yuffie, Zack with Aerith, Cloud and Tifa. Um... Sora and Kairi were looking closer than usual, and his brother Roxas was holding hands with Namine. Then I saw Axel and Larxene, and Vincent was with that new girl."

"You mean Lucrecia," Jenny offered.

"Yeah, her."

Fire went over the list in her head. She'd never actually looked at anyone's auras before (not in the school, at least). Or if she had, it was only a glimpse.

"With the headache I have, I'd say all of them are matched wrong. Maybe one or two are right," Fire concluded. "We'll have to investigate at lunch."

Sam, Cat, and Jenny nodded.

Class started a few minutes after there conversation ended. By the time third period came and went, Fire had made a list and rewrote it five times (she kept messing up and throwing the paper away).

_The List of Matched Mismatchers_

_(Sixth Edition)_

_1. Reno/Yuffie_

_2. Cloud/Tifa_

_3. Axel/Larxene_

_4. Sora/Kairi_

_5. Vincent/Lucrecia_

_6. Roxas/Namine_

_7. Zack/Aerith_

For some reason, Fire had the feeling this list would grow.

--

Fire and her friends trudged down the hallway to the courtyard. Well, Sam, Jenny, and Fire walked while Cat skipped.

They exited the building and headed to their table which was situated in the center of the courtyard. It was perfect for Fire because she could see all the other tables.

Now MHS was your typical school that had all the typical stereotypes. The table to the right of Fire's was the so dubbed 'prep table'. And to the left was the 'gossip table'. It made it very easy to gather info when you sat between people like that.

Cheerleaders, dancers, and generally happy teens hung out at the prep table. Fire and her friends didn't talk to them much because the people who hung out there included Kairi, Larxene, and Yuffie. Namine sat there sometimes, but mostly she was with her art friends halfway across the courtyard.

The gossip table was made up of a ton of girls that Fire didn't care to know. She just knew that they couldn't shut there mouths at any time of the day. Especially when something interesting was brewing in the school. As it was, they were talking animatedly at the moment.

"Ohmigod! Did you hear?" a blonde suddenly exclaimed, catching her friends attentions.

All the girls shook their heads furiously, wanting to know.

"Principle Xemnas, like, totally got engaged! And today in second period, Professor Saix was reeally moody. He gave us sooo much homework," she complained. "Oh! And Zexion is going out with some girl that nobody knows! That girl who hangs out in the library all the time, you know?"

"You mean that really smart girl? I think her name's Shirley," a black-haired girl spoke up from behind her mirror. She finished fixing her make-up and snapped it shut. "I don't know _what _he sees in her. Ew. He can do so much better!"

The other girls laughed and one shouted out, "What? Like you?"

"Yes!"

As they calmed down, Fire leaned closer to hear.

A curly-haired brunette spoke up. "So, like, five people in the Organization are dating?"

The Organization, or Organization XII, was a group in the school for elite students and the teachers who taught them. Only seven kids were in each year. There were six professors: Xigbar, Xaldin, Lexaeus, Luxord, Saix, and Principle Xemnas.

Fire was jolted from her seat when the girls next to her started shrieking with laughter right in her ear.

"Maybe Prof. Saix is in love with Principle Xemnas," the only red-head of the group 'whispered.'

Saix, who happened to be walking by the table, twitching visibly.

_I can never understand why people at MHS always make fun of gays. It really gets on my nerves._

_And the weird thing is, after years of matching people and looking at auras, I have never matched or seen two guys with the same color. I feel that's going to change this semester..._

--

The girls had been lectured by one of the older science teachers about respecting their elders and had shut up. Fire was free to ponder on what she'd heard.

Two new couples could be added to the list. And by what she'd seen when the gossipers were being chewed out, she could add an extra three to that.

Lunch past without Fire getting a chance to see anyone's auras, but fourth period let her make an updated list.

_The List of Matched Mismatchers_

_(Sixth Edition)_

_1. Reno/Yuffie_

_2. Cloud/Tifa_

_3. Axel/Larxene_

_4. Sora/Kairi_

_5. Vincent/Lucrecia_

_6. Roxas/Namine_

_7. Zack/Aerith_

NEW:

_8. Xemnas/???_

_9. Zexion/Shirley_

_10. Vexen/Some Science Girl_

_11. Marluxia/Some Flower Chick_

_12. Sehpiroth/Angel_

Bye the time fourth period was over and Fire was on her was home, she had a clever plan to get close to each of the couples. Okay, that's a lie. She had a plan for some, but the rest she was just gonna wing it. She would need to make a list for each of their colors. But that would be the easy part.

--

The next day, Fire's bus got there very early. She was happy because that would give her a good chance to catch a glimpse of some of the couples.

She hastened to get her books out of her locker and went straight to the courtyard. Few people were there, but luckily Cat was sitting at the table, nodding her head to some music she was listening to. Fire hurried over and pulled a headphone out, gaining the blonde's attention. Cat directed a curious glance in her direction while still bobbing her head. Fire whispered something in her ear and she smiled mischievously.

Kids had slowly filtered into the open area and taken seats at their respective tables. The most populated at the moment happened to be the 'popular' table. There was a buzz of talk and laughter as kids crowded it.

Cat got up, stuck the headphone back in, and leisurely headed across the perfectly cut grass. Her eyes were closed, and she looked just as if she didn't know where she was going. Perfect.

Fire waited, holding her breath, as Cat approached the table. She went to turn but tripped over her own foot causing her to fall flat on her face. Immediately, a fair number of people ran over to her, kneeling down and asking if she was okay. It was weird how most of the popular kids were nice.

Fire ran over from her table –where she'd been acting nonchalant, like she didn't know what Cat was doing– and dropped to the ground in front of her friend, worriedly dusting her off. Zack was kneeling next to her, smiling and just making sure Cat was going to be fine. Fire pulled down her mental barriers enough to get a color around his head and turned back to Cat.

"Cat, are you alright?"

Cat laughed, sitting up and pulling her headphones out. "I'm fine, I'm fine. Really, Fire," she stressed as her friend didn't stop patting her clothes to get dirt off.

"Well, if you're sure," Fire relented and stood up, taking her friend with her.

As everyone was heading back to the table or to some other place, it cleared out enough for Fire to have a clear sight of Sephiroth and Angel sitting on their table. They had the same expression: they couldn't care less. Fire got a reading on their auras and tugged Cat back to the table.

Zack called to them as they walked across the yard. "Watch out next time!"

Sam and Jenny had arrived while we'd been gone, and Fire sat down next to Jenny. "Make a list."

Jenny rustled through her bag and pulled out a piece of clean paper, then scrounged around for a pen. At last, she was ready to write and Fire started dictating.

--

Fire found the rest of the couples on her way to her first classes. She past some in the hallway and had a few in her first and second period. By lunch, she'd seen every last one. She had even been lucky enough to see the principal's fiancé.

Fire sat down at the table and made another list.

_Couples_

_1. Reno/Yuffie_

_2. Cloud/Tifa_

_3. Axel/Larxene_

_4. Sora/Kairi_

_5. Vincent/Lucrecia_

_6. Roxas/Namine_

_7. Zack/Aerith_

_8. Xemnas/???_

_9. Zexion/Shirley_

_10. Vexen/Some Science Girl_

_11. Marluxia/Some Flower Chick_

_12. Sehpiroth/Angel_

_Auras_

_1. Red, Pink_

_2. Blue, Orange_

_3. Grey, Yellow_

_4. Baby Blue, Lime Green_

_5. Purple, Periwinkle_

_6. Grey, Peach_

_7. Yellow Orange, Yellow Orange_

_8. Silver, Brown_

_9. Green, Indigo_

_10. Black, Bronze_

_11. Black, Maroon_

_12. Blue, Gold_


	3. Match 2: The Plan

The rest of the week had seen Fire observing the couples. They seemed happy enough outwardly, but their auras were twisting and thrashing about each other; they would never combine like that. Not that they could anyway, since they weren't the same color.

A little aura lesson is perhaps called to order: When two humans have the same aura and trust each other enough (otherwise known as love), their auras will combine. It will then be a rainbow, and it can never be broken, except by the death of the soul mate. The living partner will gain another color and the cycle will happen again.

If two different auras are pushed together, they will clash. Sometimes they can cause harm to a person's mood if the auras fight and eat away at each other. There was only one case –that Fire knew of– that two different auras were calm and danced playfully around each other. That was her parents.

Also, in her life so far, Fire had only met one couple who had a rainbow aura already. They were extremely fortunate.

But I digress.

When the weekend came around, Sam, Jenny, and Cat found themselves at Fire's house. The redhead had decided they needed to collaborate on a master plan to break at least a few couples up. She was getting a headache from the mismatched even though she was working on constructing a barrier to block the feeling.

She paced in front of her friends, who were sitting on her bed, patiently watching her.

"So, there are two ways we can do this," Fire started. She thought a moment. "Subtly or directly."

She gave them a moment of thought.

"We pick the straightforward method," Sam answered for the other two.

Fire whipped around to Jenny, staring at her. She was the level-headed one who liked to not be up front about things. She'd usually stay in the background, being totally inconspicuous. But right now she had a gleam in her eye that spoke of great plans. It was creepy.

"I like to have fun once in a while. Especially when it comes to couples; you know I like helping you out any way I can when it deals with your powers. Anyway, if direct fails, we can go with subtlety. It _is_ my specialty." She touched two fingers to her forehead in a mock salute.

_There's her rational side_ Fire thought. _Plus, she is right._

"Okay. Let's get to work on a back-up plan. I already have an idea for the direct approach." Fire smiled evilly.

"What?" Cat asked eagerly, bouncing on the bed.

Fire just laughed.

--

Monday rolled around and Fire got her sister to drive her to school.

The car ride there was quiet: no music, no talking. All she could hear was the sound of the engine and passing cars.

Flame looked over at her little sister. Her fire-red hair was up in a bun, chopsticks through it. She was mirroring her sister.

"I know you're up to something, sis. You always get that look when you're planning."

Fire jumped as the silence was broken. She turned to stare at her sister. "So?"

Flame shrugged. "I just don't want you to get into trouble. You know what happened in elementary school when you tried to get those kids to kiss. This is high school. You won't just get a time out."

Fire snorted. "Yeah, well, those two happen to be going strong, and it's all because of me. I didn't deserve that time out; my teacher was a retard. And I'll be careful, don't worry."

"Sure," her sister said sarcastically. She pulled into the school parking lot and parked in front of the gates to the courtyard. "Well, get out. We're here. And don't ask for a ride again; this is a one time thing."

Fire open the door and stepped out. "Right, Flame. That's what you always say." She slammed the door and watched her sister drive off.

--

The bell rang and Fire gathered her books. Every Monday they got third period off for free study. The school thought it was good for them. Not like anyone actually studied, though. They hung out in the hallways for an hour and a half.

Cat, Sam, and Jenny walked up to the redhead as she threw her books into her locker.

"They say they're gonna get rid of study hall if people don't actually _study_," Sam complained, leaning against the locker next to Fire's.

"They can't do that," Jenny replied. She flipped her black hair over her shoulder and crossed her arms. "All the parents would protest."

Sam gave her an 'I-don't-believe-you' look. "Yeah. Right. What would they protest about?"

"Well, DUH. All the kids would complain and annoy their parents, so the parents would get pissed and call the school and complain. That would annoy the school and they'd put in back in place."

"I still say they'd take it away."

The two went on bickering until Fire stopped abruptly at the end of a hallway. Cat ran into her and almost fell over; Sam and Jenny caught her at the last second. They looked at Fire with confusion.

"Start Phase 1," was all she said.

The three stayed where they were and watched her walk down the hallway, passing groups of people talking and laughing happily. She easily slipped in and out of the crowd. At a certain point, they lost sight of her completely. They blamed it on all the people in the hall.

Fire was lucky. Quite a few of the couples, or people that were part of them, were meandering around the main hall. The first person she spotted was Reno.

Yuffie was practically hanging from his arm and they were surrounded by mutual friends. The black-haired girl was positively radiant, smile bright on her face. But her aura was shying away from Reno's. It seemed annoyed and a bit intimidated by Reno's fiery red.

Locking on to the shade of red, Fire scanned the immediate premises.

Up and down both sides of the hallway and then again. No one. There were tons of colors, tons of reds, but none were the right shade. Fire was about to go to another hall when the brothers exited a classroom. Kadaj was first to enter the crowd of people, flanked by Yazoo and Loz to either side.

Fire's eyes widened when she noticed their auras. Kadaj was a brilliant purple, perfectly matching someone else... Loz was a dark orange. And then there was Yazoo.

It was so unlikely. They were in completely different circles, separated by the rules of society and social cliques. But there it was. The glowing red that mirrored Reno's. It seemed to frame Yazoo perfectly. And no one was even aware of it. Except for me.

The three boys stopped right outside their classroom and leaned against the wall. Yazoo ended up in the middle. He just stood there, standing, staring. Fire thought he looked... sad.

That would definitely change if she had any say in it. Which she did.

Fire walked brusquely up to Reno's group and grabbed the male's signature ponytail. He yelped indignantly, but she dragged him along. The people in the hall just stared at the scene, dumbfounded.

Reno finally regained his senses and started pulling against Fire's grasp, but it was futile. Fire had a death grip on his hair. She would not be put off her mission.

It took less than thirty seconds to drag him across the hall to stand right in front of Loz, Yazoo, and Kadaj. Fire pushed Reno in front of herself, face to face with Yazoo. She gave a great shove and watched it play out.

The hall fell completely silent. Almost in slow motion, all the teens watched as Reno threw his hands out to catch himself. His palms hit either side of Yazoo's head, but the momentum with which Fire has pushed kept him going forward. His mouth landed smack onto the silver-haired teens.

They both froze in absolute shock. It was quiet enough to hear a pin drop.

A minute passed and Reno was rudely yanked away by Kadaj, then promptly punched in the face. He landed flat on his ass, nose gushing blood. A crowed quickly gathered around, a few people stooping down help Reno. Fire slipped away quietly.

Coach Xigbar came running with a few other teachers in tow. They broke through the crowd to stop whatever was happening.

Later on that day, Fire found out that Kadaj punching Reno was the only thing that happened. After she had left, Kadaj had apparently dragged Yazoo away from the redhead, Loz following.


	4. Match 3: Meyhem and a Closet Cliche

A week had passed since the incident with Reno and Yazoo. Yuffie had subsequently broken up with Reno. Fire had yet to be blamed for the incident, which really confused her. It's not like she had been invisible or something.

Kadaj had been attached to Yazoo the whole time, steering him away whenever a certain redhead came into view. The glimpses Fire had of them showed her that though Yazoo looked slightly miffed by Kadaj's behavior, he also smiled more. Nobody else noticed it except for his brothers. It made Kadaj even more moody, but it made Fire happy that she'd manage to do something good already.

All-in-all, she had managed to break up one couple

--

"I stuck my foot out to slide the paper closer so I could pick it up, and Joshe walks past. He trips over my foot and lands on his face. He had blood gushing everywheeere!" Cat exclaimed. "It was hilarious."

Sam and Jenny laughed as Fire sat staring out the window. She was hardly paying attention to her friends, let alone Cat's silly story.

Supposedly, Cat had been passing notes with someone in her math class and the person had thrown it wrong. It landed in the aisle, and she had been trying to get it when a kid in her class had gotten up to throw something away. She'd accidently tripped him and broken his nose. It didn't pertain to anything Fire was thinking about, but it was sort of funny. She wasn't paying much attention, though, and Sam noticed.

"Still bummed no one has come after you?" she said playfully while swatting Fire's shoulder. Fire shook her head. "Then what?"

"I have a headache. The mental barrier I've been trying to build is still only halfway done. It's starting to get annoying."

"Well, you should be happy! Another couple broke up."

Fire perked up right on cue. "When? Who? Why didn't I hear about it?"

"Happened last night. Heard it from Gossipers," Jenny answered indifferently. "Vincent and Lucrecia. Apparently she likes that creepy-ass Professor Hojo. Found out and dumped her. She was crying this morning. People noticed; it didn't help that her friends were making a giant fuss."

Cat raised her hand and waved it spastically. "And we spread a rumor about Angel! We don't think it'll do much, but oh well. It was fun."

Just then, Ciela came springing into the room. General know-it-all gossiper, she was the perfect person to talk to if you wanted all the dirt on anyone. It's obvious that people questioned why they were friends with her, but she and Fire had been friends since childhood. Plus, she was always good for information.

The blue-eyed brunette spotted them and bounded over, plopping into her seat and instantly turning around to face them. Her face was lit by a smile that screamed accomplishment. She definitely had something to spill. And she would do just that.

"Did you guys hear? Some weird rumor was spread about Angel. She found out. The inner circle says it was started by Sephiroth, but really, I think someone's framing him. I mean, seriously, Sephiroth starting a rumor? Yeah, right," she giggled and took a deep breath to start again. "She believes the it, though. Dunno why. Maybe she wants a reason to break up with them. They don't really get along well."

They shrugged.

"Either way, one wrong move and they'll be together no longer! String of fate: snapped! Maybe then I'll have a chance." She laughed and faced front.

The teacher walked in as she left them alone. He called role and droned on about photosynthesis of something for the rest of the class. Fire only half-listened, already knowing the material. One more push and the hardest couple to get near would break up. But what could do it?

--

Fire finished whispering to her friends and stood back, grinning at them. They mirrored her look.

It was just before lunch and Fire had thought up a foolproof –not really– plan. She was trying to get her friends to go along with it.

"So all we have to do is lead him into the science hall and push him into a closet? Then you come along with the other one, and you get him in, too?" Sam recounted. "Oh, that sounds simple, but, you know, there's one problem."

"What?" Fire asked.

"How in the WORLD do we get someone like SEPHIROTH in a closet? And with _Cloud_?"

Fire shrugged. She hadn't gone over that in her head; she just figured it would be fun to try. She gave them a noncommital hand gesture and said, "Use you imagination."

--

"Maaaan. Why do we get mission _totally_ impossible? Cat whined. She kicked at one of the many rocks littering the walkway. It flew a few feet and hit some kid in the shin. "Sorry," she mumbled as they passed.

"Don't complain. It's not like Cloud is any better. He'll give Fire some kind of trouble," Sam said, patting the blonde's head. "Now, what we need to focus on is finding Sephy-pants and leading him to the closet."

Jenny stopped walking and Sam bumped into her. She fell, dragging Cat down with her. The raven turned and helped them up before walking back the way they had come. She beckoned for the other two to follow.

"It is most likely that he will be by his locker. The bell did just ring, after all."

"Whatever," Sam answered.

Cat ran ahead of her friends and started skipping backwards. She rambled on about what she did last night while Sam and Jenny made sure she didn't run into anyone. Or anything. They continued to weave through their maze of a school before they found their prey . Cat wasn't paying attention to her friends' warnings and skipped right into the taller male. Zack, who happened to be walking with Sephiroth, reached out to catch her, but was too late. She hit the floor with a thud.

"Where'd she go?" Sam reached out her hands and felt around where Cat had been standing. There was nothing. "What happened?!" She started groping around where Cat had fallen and hit something solid.

"Ow! You just poked me in the eye. Thanks for adding more pain to my already hurt ass."

Sam's hand was pushed away by some invisible force. Everyone stared at where Cat was supposed to be.

Cat appeared suddenly, standing before them and brushing herself off. She looked at them strangely as they just stared. "What?"

No one answered.

"Yeah, okay. Whatever." She turned to Sephiroth and tilted her head back so she could see his face. "Look, Professor Marie wanted you to help her move something since you're, like, her favorite student or something. She said come now, no dawdling; it won't take long. 'Kay, Sephy?"

Sam covered her friends mouth and laughed nervously. No one dared to call Sephiroth that to his face. The last person who did left the school with a few... missing parts.

"Yeah, so, you better go," Sam told him, trying to divert the obvious killing intent.

Sephiroth glared at them, and, without answering, walked briskly down the hall and headed to where Cat had told him.

Sam sighed, letting Cat go. "Do you have a death wish, idiot?"

"Nah. Not really."

"Whatever. How'd you even come up with that?"

Cat looked thoughtful. "I have nooo idea. It just came out."

Zack, who had been standing quietly and watching the exchange, finally spoke up. "I see you girls are up to something."

Jenny nodded. Sam and Cat shrugged.

"Try not to get killed."

"We'll see," they answered simultaneously.

He started walking the opposite way as Sephiroth, toward the cafeteria. Sam and Cat went to catch up with the silver-haired male. Jenny was about to follow when she called after Zack.

"Fire sends her blessings."

Zack turned and gave her a perplexed look, but she was already gone.

--

A high-pitched laugh echoed down the hallway. A few people covered their ears and grumbled obscenities. Most just ignored it.

Fire headed straight for the noise. A tall girl moved out of her path to head to the bathroom, and she had a clear view of five teens. Two of them were leaning against the wall and the other three were in front of them. The black-haired girl against the wall was the one who had emitted the noise. She seemed to have laughed at something the other female had said.

But that girl wasn't her objective. No, it was the blonde she was currently attached to.

Cloud was leaning against the wall looking all the world like he didn't want to be there at the moment. Fire wouldn't either, what with Tifa laughing in his ear. In front of him were two guys she didn't know the names of and Zack –who had somehow managed to get to the cafeteria, obtain food, and make it all the way across the school in under ten minutes. And their school was big.

Zack noticed her approach and said something that made Tifa let Cloud go. He smiled at his friend and Cloud left the circle of friends.

Fire stopped to see if Cloud had noticed her. She got her answer when he walked over, looking expectant. Or, at least, that's how she thought he looked. Fire couldn't really tell with his expressionless face.

"One of the science teachers told me to tell you that he wants you to help him move something. And it wasn't Professor Hojo!" Fire added as the blonde's face turned dark. "I don't know who it was. I don't have their class..." He calmed down, so Fire continued. "He said to meet him by the closet in the math hall to get whatever he wants you to move."

Cloud nodded and left. Fire chuckled at how easily he'd fallen for it. Now she just hoped her friends had gotten as lucky as she had. Fire skipped off after the blonde.

--

"So, she was like, saying how it was true and I denied it and we got into this 'nuh-uh,' 'uh-huh' fight. I won, of course, but she had to be a sore loser. She stopped talking to me and we haven't been friends since. I think it was something stupid to fight over. Maybe I should've apologised. What do you thi--"

Cat's question was cut short by a shining, extremely long blade being thrust into her path. It touched her neck lightly. Cat didn't even flinch at the sight of a sword being held up to her threateningly. While in school. Or at all, really.

The school had a 'sword-fighting' team. (Only three people were on the team, counting Sephiroth) Nobody questioned it, even though they never actually did anything. They didn't even meet regularly. But that could be accounted to two of the members not liking each other very much. Either way, they were still a club.

The blonde reached her hand up and pushed the blade away with her index finger. "Okay, seriously? One: That's just rude, cutting someone off like that. Two: Dangerous. And three: People will think you don't like them if you do that suddenly.

The male's eye twitched, but he didn't say anything. Resheathing the blade, Sephiroth started walking again, ignoring Cat as she continued her rant.

Sam glanced over at Jenny, who was walking slower than all of them. She took smaller steps, waiting for her friend to catch up.

"Where's the closet?"

"I think it's the one we're coming up to. Fire said the one in the math hall. But what I'm wondering is how we're gonna get him in. I mean, Cat told him he's supposed to go to the science hall to get whatever it is."

Sam 'hmm'ed. "We'll just have to lie, then, won't we? Besides, we only have to stall long enough for Fire to get her ass here with the key. And Cloud."

Jenny sighed, knowing she'd have to be the one to come up with a reasonable lie. She WAS the smartest of the three.

"Hey, Cat," she called, gaining the attention of both people in front of her. Cat stopped walking and grabbed the edge of Sephiroth's shirt to cease his forward movement also. Jenny thought quickly, glancing from the closet to Sephiroth and back. "You forgot that he has to pick it up and bring it to the Professor."

Cat tilted her head in confusion, also looking at the closet. Then her expression melted away, replaced by a smile. "Oh, of course! Thanks, Jen. I totally forgot. Good thing you reminded me, or we would have had to come all the way back here." She pointed to the closet. "There's a box in that closet. You have to bring it."

Sephiroth scowled, but moved to enter, just as Fire sprinted around the corner, key clutched in her hand.

The male had just opened the closet when Fire ran up, gesturing to her friends. Cat pushed Sephiroth, sending him into the closet. Unluckily for them, he hadn't lost his balance and turned abruptly. Sam and Jenny slammed the door and leaned against it. That didn't last long as Masamune pierced through the wood between their heads. Sam squeaked and shoved Cat in her place. Cat, completely unfazed, grabbed the blade between her hands and held it their.

"I can only do this for so long, you know. Cloud better get his little blonde butt here soon, or we won't be alive much longer," Cat complained, tugging on the blade as it tried to slide back through the wood.

"He should be coming right about now," Fire said. Cloud rounded the corner at the same time she said 'now'.

"Ah, Cloud," Fire exclaimed brightly, waving the key. "I just ran into the Professor. He gave me the key and said to bring the box to his room."

The blonde frowned as he looked at Cat, who was still holding Masamune still. "Wait. Isn't that Sephi–"

The redhead shoved the key in the handle as she opened the door. Cat let the sword go and it slipped through the door. Jenny and Sam shoved Cloud into the closet. Fire slammed the door and turned the key, hearing the resounding 'click' of the lock. She moved away just in time; the same long blade pierced the wood right where her head had been. The four squealed and scampered a few feet from it.

Sam sighed, sliding down the wall to sit with her head resting on her knees. Her hands came up to cover the back of her head. "That was close," came her muffled voice.

"How long should we keep them in there?" Jenny asked.

Fire smiled slyly. "This corridor is closed off for the rest of the day. I borrowed the key from the janitor. No one will know they're here."

Sam raised her head, also smiling. Cat was smirking, eyes closed in happiness. Jenny sighed, but let her lips curve upward slightly.


	5. Match 4: A Turn of the Tables

The bell for Study Hall rang, sending kids stampeding out of classrooms. The quartet exited their classroom after everyone else had herded out.

Right after the closet scene, they'd gone to both Sephiroth and Cloud's third period teachers. Fire told them that Cloud was in the nurses office and Sephiroth had to meet with the club leader. They'd believed it without a thread of suspicion and the two had been left in the closet for an hour and a half. Now, the four girls were going back to see what had happened.

They took the long way across the school, walking down the English hall and cutting across the back of the campus, where the football field was. As the hall they were going to was closed off, they needed to be sneaky.

"Hey, Fire," Cat said as they treaded through the back part of the science hall. "What do you think happened?"

Fire shrugged. "I don't know. Let's hope that no one was decapitated."

"Like Cloud?" Sam laughed. The three turned to her. "Whaat? I mean, it's not like he isn't strong or something, but he doesn't carry his sword around like Sephiroth. And even if Sephiroth did play fair, he's pretty dangerous in hand-to-hand combat, too."

Jenny shook her head. "Hm... I bet fifty dollars they've at least talked by now."

"You're on," Sam exclaimed, raising her hand in a high-five gesture. Jenny also raised hers and they did their customary 'bet handshake'. It had become tradition since the very first time they'd bet against each other. "Fifty dollars on them somehow getting out of that closet and Seph chasing us down!"

"Why would we want that?" Jenny retorted.

"I was just taking a guess..."

"I bet they're making out," Cat added in. Her three friends stared at her incredulously, but Sam raised her hand and they shook on it.

"I doubt it, but hey, a bet's a bet," Sam said.

"It could happen! You know you want it to."

"Maybe, but if you lose, I get fifty dollars, so hah!"

Fire sighed. "Guys, not the time."

Sam and Cat shut up, folding their arms and looking away from each other in a huff. They walked in silence until they reached the math hall. All four were shocked at the sight as they turned the corner.

The closet Sephiroth and Cloud had been in was wrecked. The door was hanging off one hinge, the other one nowhere to be seen. Everything that had been inside the closet was torn to pieces, some of it littering the hallway.

The hallway was pretty bad in itself. A whole wall of windows was smashed. The nearest classroom was missing it's door completely. As the girls walked slowly down the hall, they saw it through one of the broken windows. The wood was bent cleanly in half, splintering where it had started to rip apart.

Neither male could be seen.

"Holy shi– Crap!" Sam yelled, correcting herself halfway through. They were still in school, after all.

Fire, Cat, and Jenny were speechless. Then Jenny pointed to something in the distance.

"Look at that door." The door she pointed at was the only thing in the hall that wasn't touched. It was closed and the light was on inside.

"That's strange..." Fire said. She was regaining her sense of speech as the curious sight met her eyes. "Nobody should be in this hall. Especially after seeing this."

"It must be the culprits!" Cat exclaimed, skipping toward the door.

Sam scratched her cheek. "Does she mean Sephiroth and Cloud?"

"Probably," Jenny and Fire answered.

The three followed Cat quietly, and peeked in the window embedded in the door. They could only catch a glimpse of their customary school uniform (Cloud's by the height). Cat pressed her ear to the door, blonde hair being moved to the sides so she could hear better.

"No good. All I can hear is mumbling. And they sound angry." Cat pouted. "I wanna hear their fight!"

Jenny snapped her fingers, her face brightening with wisdom. "Cat! You know how you just disappeared earlier?"

Fire looked confused, but Cat gave a hesitant 'yeaaah?'

"Well, do you know how you did it?

"Er, no, not really. I remember bumping into Sephy and feeling really surprised as I fell. I didn't even know _had_ disappeared until you guys said something. Then I had this weird shivery feeling and you could see me again."

"What are you guys talking about?!" Fire butted in, annoyed.

"Cat went all invisible miss on us earlier. We don't know why. She bumped into Seph, fell, and disappeared." Sam shrugged.

Jenny followed up, "This would help us spy on those two." She tilted her head in the direction of the classroom.

Unknown by her friends, Cat had been pacing, thinking of how to get herself invisible again. Now, Cat might not have seemed all that bright, but she was quite the genius; she rivaled Fire in smarts. They just didn't know it. She had a sudden thought and snapped her fingers deliberately. This caught her friends' attention and they turned around.

Sam stared right at her. "What was that?"

"Dunno," Jenny answered, walking forward.

"Where'd Cat go?" Fire asked.

"I'm right here," came Cat's indignant voice.

Sam, Jenny, and Fire looked left and right, trying to locate the girl. Jenny approached the source and stretched out her hand. It was caught by an invisible hand. The other two gasped.

"Hey, now. No more poking me in the eyes."

Sam glared. "I couldn't see you, okay? I'm sorry!"

Jenny shushed her. "Does this mean you've found out how to turn invisible?"

"Yes?"

They heard a snap and Cat reappeared. "I'm pretty sure I can turn other people invisible, too. Come 'ere."

Sam walked over and grabbed Jenny's hand, then held hers out to Fire. Fire obliged and took it. Cat reached for Fire's other hand and completed the circle. She concentrated, and with a bit of trouble (since she was still holding Fire's hand), she managed to snap her fingers. They broke apart and Fire tried to see her reflection in the window; there was none. She smiled in triumph, but no one could see it.

Reaching out, she turned the handle quickly and silently. All four slipped into the room in time to see Sephiroth and Cloud turn to the door. Sephiroth walked over and closed it, almost bumping into Cat, who hadn't moved very far from the entrance.

The four girls huddled into the corner closest to Sephiroth and Cloud so they could hear.

Cloud started speaking again, in a low whisper, once Sephiroth was closer. "Look, it's not my fault I ended up in there with you. Some girl--" Fire would have looked indignant at this because Cloud didn't know her name, but no one could see her "-- told me a professor wanted me to do something. I just did what I was told and then I ended up in that stupid closet with you. Don't blame it on me."

Sephiroth leaned close, tilting Cloud head up with a finger to his chin. "I believe," he said slowly, drawing out his statement, "that I will blame it on you anyway. Compensation will be given for my troubles."

Cloud turned the slightest shade of red. "Like I'd do that!"

"I think you will." Sephiroth smirked and brought Cloud's lips to meet his own in a chaste kiss. Cloud spluttered, losing his composure easily.

The four girls covered their mouths to keep from gasping in shock. They watched as Sephiroth stood to his full height and stared at Cloud, who was looking completely dumbfounded and touching his lips.

"Now, if you don't mind, I will be leaving. I feel we have company." He glared at the wall the girls were currently occupying. Cloud also looked at the wall, confused. He whipped around as he heard the door shut.

"Yes, I do fucking mind," the blonde muttered, but he let the other male go none-the-less.

A minute passed and finally, Cloud exited the room.

Cat snapped and they became visible.

"Wait, you weren't touching us. How'd you do that?" Jenny asked, flipping her hands around to gaze at them, checking for any problems.

"Dunno. I just wanted us to be visible. Guess we don't actually have to be touching."

Fire broke into the conversation. "Hello! Bigger things to worry about her. Maybe, I don't know, the fact that Sephiroth kissed Cloud! And that he knew we were here."

"I think Sephy-kins likes little Cloudy-kins," Cat said in a sing-song voice.

"And vice-versa," added Sam.

Jenny shrugged, giving an answer to the other statement. "Even if he knew we were there, he can't prove it. We were invisible, after all."

Fire clenched her hands together, thinking. "Still... But what I want to know is why Sephiroth kissed Cloud. That's just so out of character."

"Unless he really does like Cloud. He's not really the type to say that kind of thing," Jenny said.

"Well, I guess..."

"We can't exactly do much right now. Let's just go. The bell will be ringing soon."

Fire nodded and the girls left the room. They stopped once again as they saw the hall. Sam laughed.

"What do you think the rest of the school will think when they see this?"

--

"OhmiGod! Fiiiire!"

Fire looked up from the science book she was skimming. Cat was sprinting toward her, Sam right behind followed by Jenny, who was fast-walking. Half the court yard turned to watch the spectacle; it was the morning of the next day and most people were trying to catch a bit more sleep. Cat leaped into Fire's lap, knocking them backwards and sending Fire's book flying – it happened to hit Cloud in the head and awaken him. A crowd gathered around them as Sam also joined the little dog pile. Jenny watched from a safer vantage point: sitting on the table. Eventually, Cat let Fire out of her death grip of a hug and Sam shooed the onlookers away. Jenny helped her redheaded friend up and they all took a seat, Cat bouncing around them.

"_What_ was that about?!" Fire demanded. Her hair was matted with a thin layer of dirt and her clothes were extremely dusty. She took out a comb and started to brush the sand from her hair. Cat giggled happily. Fire glared.

"Sorry, sorry. She's just a little hyper," Sam reasoned, dusting Fire's clothes off.

"No. Really." Fire sighed, pushing Sam away. "What's this about anyway?"

This started Cat up again and she took a deep breath. "Oh. My. God. You won't believe it. It's the most incredible thing EVER. I mean, I was totally shocked. I just couldn't comprehend how it had happened. I mean, REALLY. It didn't make sense!"

"Either of you want to translate?" she directed at Sam and Jenny.

Sam raised her hand in confirmation and started talking over, and almost as excitedly as, Cat. "You just won't believe it, but your stunt worked! Somehow, Yazoo convinced Kadaj to apologize to Reno. You know, for punching him and all. And Reno accepted it. But after that, him and Yazoo started talking and Reno asked him to the movies. They aren't officially going out; most people don't know about it, and others just think it's nothing, but still! And there's more good news! Cloud broke up with Tifa and she's now going out with Loz. Nobody knows how it happened, but it did. Axel and Larxene are having problems, too," she stopped here to take a breath. "Aaaand, last but not least, that Shirley girl is transferring to some school in some other country. Zexion doesn't like having long-distance relationships, so he broke up with her."

Fire was stunned by how long Sam had talked. Also, by how much had happened in one night. It was almost impossible, but she guessed anything could happen, right?

--

_Author's Comments:_

_Fifth chapter will be up soon...._


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